Welcome

Welcome to Animals and US. I will be one of the bloggers here and since you can’t all tell me at the same time what you have been doing for the last two years, I’ll just catch you up on what I’ve been up to.

I continued writing– a blog and as a contributor for The Free George online magazine. I attended circus protests and anti-fur demonstrations, talks by fellow animal advocates, and a couple animal lobby days at the Capitol. I learned to lobby and met a life-changing mentor in the process (I promise, you will hear about her soon.) I started and still maintain the position of Facebook/Social Media manager for two animal advocacy organizations.

So, as you can see my commitment to stop animal suffering did not wane in my absence from the TU Blogs. I’m here to fulfill the promise I have made to animals to never stop fighting to end their exploitation. I’m here to show that elephants and horses, in cages and trailers, do not have a choice in how they live and die. I want to illustrate how dogs are brought into this world for profit and how cats are coaxed into this world by negligence. That animal abuse and neglect can be hidden by glitz and glamour, or by a fence and a front door.

In speaking with Mike Huber at the Times Union, we agree that this is the perfect forum to bring these issues to light and advocate for animals. I’m here to provoke some thoughts and change some hearts. I’m glad to be here and welcome back!

I would love to see a paragraph that reads lilke this…
So, as you can see my commitment to stop HUMAN suffering did not wane in my absence from the TU Blogs. I’m here to fulfill the promise I have made to PEOPLE to never stop fighting to end their exploitation. I’m here to show that CHILDREN and ADULTS, in cages and trailers, do not have a choice in how they live and die. I want to illustrate how WOMEN are brought into this world for profit and how CHILDREN are coaxed into this world by negligence. That ABUSE and NEGLECT can be hidden by glitz and glamour, or by a fence and a front door.

Well there you go. Thanks for writing it. Also, FYI if you go to the TU Blogs home page you will see the listing of other blogs and their subject matter. We won’t be talking about cars, guns or yarn here either.

Human suffering and animal suffering are one in the same. People like “Dadd” (above) have not yet learned that the point of life on this planet is to get beyond the false concept of human “superiority” and to move toward recognition that all animals on the face of this planet are significant. Objectification of sentient beings is the basis for slavery. If we ensure animal rights, human rtights are a foregone conclusion; if we ensure animal rights, we only STRENGTHEN (not weaken) strengthen human rights. Even the field mouse demonstrates “human” compassionate thought and behavior. It’s time for compassionate living to take its rightful place as the standard for behavior. Compassion is not some efette preference; it is a biological imperative, according to recent (2008) research at the NIH, Bethesda, MD.

I didn’t want to comment to Dadd directly…didn’t want him to feel like any attention spent on animal abuse is time not spent on human suffering, but, is it so bad to have a blog dedicated to animals? After all, we’re all animals, (some more than others!).

The great majority of violence against humans is precipitated by persons who have first abused animals. People the likes of Jeffrey Dahmer, Albert DeSalvo (Boston Strangler), and David Berkowitz (Son of Sam) ALL tortured and abused animals as children or young adults. I believe a dialogue that supports compassion toward all living beings is crucial, if for no other reason than to stop the violent behavior.

I’m looking forward to reading more. To Dadd, I would just say people advocate where their passions lie. We’ve all heard the old saying that a civilization can be judged by how it treats its animals. ANY advocacy is a positive thing, as opposed to complacency. Get the discussions going. Get people thinking.